Refound Daughter
by LoveForBooks 'p
Summary: Without a Glamour Charme, nobody recognized Hermione Granger for who she once was, even she didn't recognize herself anymore. With a new family, friends who clearly aren't real friends and a maniac on the lose, Hermione is at a loss of what to do. Pairings not yet desided.
1. Prologue

**May 4th 1983**

**Ministry of Magic, Britain **

**Day-care for children of employee's and visitors**

It was a bright and sunny day outside in London. This meant that the little Malfoy female didn't want to stay inside for the whole day. For one so small, she could make a lot of noise, something her father wasn't very fond of.

"Daddy, pwease. Me don't wanna go in."

The small blond-haired girl tried to coerce her father that they could rather spent their time at home in their garden. She wanted to play with the elves and the animals that were behind their big house, but her father had taken her to the Ministry and now told her that she had to stay here and be a good little girl and play with some of the other children. Something she really didn't want.

After another ten minutes of trying to soothe his daughter, Lucius Malfoy finally showed his temper. In five minutes he had an important meeting with a few members of the Wizengamot concerning the future of their families, and his daughter wouldn't stop pestering him.

He would have let her stay at home if Narcissa was there, but she was gone for a few days with some of her friends to Wizarding Paris and Draco, his firstborn son, was staying with the Nott's for the week. This all meant that he had to take care of his little Emmalyn, for he didn't trust her alone in the Manor for the whole day with some house-elves.

"Emmalyn Oriana Cleo Malfoy, and now you will listen to me! You are going to stay in here, and aren't going to make any noise. When I come back from my meeting I expect you to be playing silently. Is that understood, young lady?"

Lucius was sitting on his knees so he could look his daughter straight in her clear sky-blue eyes, showing her that he meant it. The little girl had already learnt that when her father used her whole name like that, then she was in big trouble.

"Yes daddy."

The voice that came from the downturned face was meek and Lucius could already envision how big, fat tears would pool in her disappointed eyes. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to free it from the upcoming headache. He hated to make her cry, or see her in tears at all, but she also had to know that she didn't always get what she wanted. This was a difficult thing as he almost always fell for her pleading puppy dog eyes en her pouting lips.

"Thank you, Papilio _(butterfly). _I come back as soon as possible, alright?"

His voice was now gentler, for he didn't want his little girl in tears. She nodded and scurried then off to a corner where she picked up a book and started to study the pictures.

For a few moments, he just stood there watching the apple of his eye. His Papilio was a true miracle. In over more than two hundred years there hadn't been born a female in the Malfoy family. Nobody knew the reason why, but there were all kinds of rumours. Varying from a curse spoken by a dark witch jealous of a Malfoy bride, to ones in which the Malfoys themselves killed all the female children, because they didn't want offspring who were from the weaker sex.

Lucius didn't agree with any of those rumours. Alright, maybe some of his forefathers didn't want any daughters, but he had always dreamed of having one of his own. A son was necessary for the continual of the family name, so he had to be strong and independent. A daughter however, didn't have to worry about such a thing. She could be loved and pampered, like all females should be loved and cared for. Those were the rules of nature. Males provided food and protection for the females and the females looked out for the children and stayed at home safe.

The clock in the room striking eleven waked him up from his thoughts. Blast it, he was going to be late. Hurrying down to the elevators, he still tried to look as poise and elegant as ever. Only when he was almost by the right room, he remembered a phrase his father used to use. 'I am never late, others are simply early.'

With this new quote in his head, he slowed down to a slower pace. 'Yes,' he thought,' a Malfoy is never late for anything.'

**Half an hour later, still at the day-care **

Emmalyn was completely absorbed in her book, 'Peter and the cursed Dragon'. She had already read the book a few times, but the pictures were so real and looked so pretty that she couldn't help but watch again as they 'told' the story. Because she was so absorbed, she didn't hear Miss Welsh calling her name, saying that her daddy was back to take her home.

She didn't look up until a pale hand with long fingers took the book from her lap.

"Come darling, I'm done with my meeting. Shall we go now?"

The face of her father was above her, smiling gently down on her, and a big smile made his way on her face as well.

"Daddy!"

She took his hand and he walked her out of the room towards the fireplaces in the hall. He had a quick pace and Emmalyn almost had to run to keep up with him.

"Daddy, not so quick. Please!"

He didn't listen and only started to walk even quicker. His eyes looked around frantically and his breathing became hard. _'Don't listen to the girl. Just keep walking and nobody will notice you.'_ He tried to keep himself calm, but with the unknown time limit it was hard.

They had almost reached the fireplaces when he heard someone calling him. His heartbeat quickened even more and his hands became slick with sweat.

"Malfoy, wait up. I have to ask you something."

A tall, dark skinned man with smooth curly hair was trying to get his attention. The man's robes were clearly from one of the more expensive shops around Wizarding London, and on the right side of his chest was the print of a family coat of arms.

'What was his name again?' He knew it sounded a lot like one of the countries in Afrika. 'Zabana, Zamzora… Ah, he remembered. It was Zabini. Alexander Zabini, if he was correct.'

Scraping his throat a few times, he tried to sound less nervous than he in reality was.

"I'm sorry, Zabini, but I have to go. My assistance is required elsewhere."

Even now, when he was speaking with the other man, he kept walking towards the fireplaces, the hand of the little girl still securely in his own.

'Oh, why had he said yes?' Deep inside he knew he wasn't ready to do something like this. But he was almost done now, and he couldn't back down anymore. 'Who says A, also has to say B.'

Now he was by a empty fireplace. Quickly he got some of the green Floo powder in his hand and tugged with his other hand the girl closer to him. Just in time, as he heard an outraged scream coming out of the direction of the day-care. Clearly he had been found out. He also felt the effects of the Poly-juice Potion leaving his body.

His hair changed from the long white blond locks to its original shorther light brown. His body shrunk a few inces and became a little heavier. A little paunch of fat appeared on his stomach.

Shocked gasps were heard through the room, and he could see the real Malfoy senior running towards him.

"Stop him. He has my daughter! Don't let him get away!"

The screamed demands of Lucius Malfoy got the people out of their shock. But the imposter didn't wait around for that. He threw the Floo-powder in the fireplace and dragged the now screaming and crying girl with him.

"Blackburn Lobby!"

They disappeared just in time. A few seconds later and the killing curse would have hit him right in the back.


	2. Chapter 1

**June 18****th**** 1996**

**Ministry of Magic, Britain**

**Hall of Prophecies **

Rodolphus Lestrange was waiting anxiously in the shadows of the high shelves which all contained prophecies inside glass. Coming here, to the middle of the Ministry was a risky thing. Coming here, when the Boy-Who-Lived was there too, was stupid. Coming to the Ministry when the Potter-boy was there with his friends and knowing that the Order of the Phoenix would probably come too, was incredibly stupid, you could even call it suicidal.

But not doing what his Lord wished was also suicidal, and so here he was. Together with is little brother, his insane wife, his brother-in-law and a few other servants of the Dark Lord. The years he had spent in Azkaban made him think. Was it really worth it, to give his life, and with that the future of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Lestrange, for a madman who would just as easily kill him as his enemies would? In the beginning, before Azkaban, he thought that his answer would be "yes". Getting rid of all the filth in the world, all those animals who stole their magic, was worth losing his life for. But now, after spending his time in a prison filled with Dementors, and simply thinking, he wasn't so sure anymore.

In the past two centuries, more and more Pureblood families had died out. Most women were barren, and even when they could produce offspring, there was a high risk of it being a squib. Inbreeding only came more frequent after this, because there were less and less pure magic folk. The last two decade however, made their numbers even smaller. The mighty House of Black would probably die out this generation, along with the Potter's, Longbottom's, Lestrange's, Malfoy's, Nott's and many more. These House's all had only one heir, or in sometimes two, who were all in the front lines of the war. Rodolphus only know of one pureblood family who had enough male descendants, but even they had a good chance of their line ending, because of their involvement in the war. Yes, even the Weasley's with their six sons, were not entirely sure if they would have a next generation.

So to continue fighting would be stupid and illogical to do, for there would almost be no wizards and witches left after the war to keep their species alive, but their Lord didn't care or simply thought that it wasn't so bad.

That was something else the older Lestrange brother concluded; the Dark Lord could be incredibly stupid. One would only have to look at his actions on the fateful night when…

A sound woke Rodolphus from his thoughts. They were here. Foolish Potter, did he really think he could win against the Dark Lord or against a few of his most trusted and gifted followers?

"Harry, be careful. We don't know who is here, hiding amongst the shelves. Maybe it could even be Vo-Voldemort himself."

A slight tremor could be heard in girl's voice when she said His name. Rodolphus tried to look a little closer, trying to recognise the girl. Ridiculously curly hair, almost as curly as his wife's, a rather plain face, but eyes that shined with intelligence. That had to be the Granger-girl, the Mudblood best friend of Potter.

"I know, Hermione. But we have to keep going if we want to save Sirius. Now, be quiet. We don't want them to hear us."

Even though he tried to be brave and let his friend not notice how scared he was, Rodolphus could hear it easily in his voice. Potter clearly didn't like being here, but he still was, trying to save his godfather, who didn't even need saving.

The deatheaters were watching silently, as the Boy-Who-Lived and his friends were looking for the last Black living. Suddenly, one of the boys, Rodolphus thought it had to be one of the Weasleys according to his hair, gave a gasp of recognition.

"Harry, look. This one is about you… and the Dark Lord."

The whole group of teenagers turned around to look were the redheaded boy was pointing. It was a round glass ball, which looked exactly identical to all the others in the room, except for the plate with information about the prophecy.

_Harry James Potter– Tom Marvolo Riddle _

_(The Boy-Who-Lived)- (Lord Voldemort; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; You-Know-Who)_

_Date: March 21th, 1981_

_Caster: Sybill Trelawny_

_Heard by: Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore_

"What do you think it would say? Did you know about a prophecy about you and the evil madman?"

This time another boy spoke. He was tall and had some pounds to much around his middle, but he didn't look stupid like the boys of Goyle and Crabbe. It had to be the Longbottom-boy.

"No, Dumbledore never told me about it. He didn't even once mention it. You would think he could at least tell me about it, because it is about me."

Potter sounded hurt. He probably worshiped the Headmaster, being the leader of the light and all that. A manipulative leader at that.

Rodolphus had heard all about the so called maniac Black, who told He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named where he could find the Potters. Everyone with half a mind could figure out that this wasn't true.

Black despised his family, as well as all other supporters of the dark and everything that had to do with it. This was already clear to see when he was just a little boy starting at Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat also had a good sense of character, and if Black wasn't who he pretended to be, then the Hat would have called him out on it. And if he could fool the Hat, then it would still be impossible to act like a bloody Gryffindor if he really were a Slytherin. No Slytherin could act like a saint and come up with all those pranks, even when it was all about self-preservation.

Besides all these facts, the Lestrange Head of House knew from reliable resources that Dumbledore had known that Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper, and still the Headmaster had not lifted a finger to save the Black heir from Azkaban.

No, the Headmaster was not to be trusted, not in everything at least, and this warning was for both sides of the war.

* * *

Hermione was scared. Not only had she just flown on a Magical Creature that she couldn't even see; now she was breaking in in the Ministry of Magic. For a girl who was such a stickler to the rules, this was a real terrifying thought. She could get kicked out of Hogwarts if someone ever heard from it, and because she was a muggleborn, her magic would then be bound and they would Obliviate her and her parents so that she would never remember the Wizarding World again.

To forget magic, her friends and everything that had happened in the last few years, was something she didn't want to happen. It was a part of her, and without it she would never be the same.

Besides the horrible punishment, she couldn't stomach to disappoint her parents. Mum and Dad had been so proud of her when they were told that she could do magic, that there was a reason why all those strange things happened.

Hermione was told some of the stories, and she could see why they had been frightened when it all happened. One time, she wanted the mean girls at primary school to stop making fun of her hair, and somehow she wasn't the only one with horrible hair anymore. Some of the girls had hair that was painted in a weird colour, like pink with orange spots, and others were bald at some places.

Nobody knew how it happened, but everyone thought that she had something to do with it. And instead of teasing her with her hair and books, the others would now call her names like 'witch', 'freak' and other names which had the same meaning.

The irony of it wasn't lost on her. The mean kids at her old school had somehow known earlier than her what she was, and bullied her because she was a witch. And now, when she was at a school with only other wizards and witches, she was still bullied, but now because she was of muggle parentage.

She was pulled out of her thoughts, when she saw something moving in the shadows. It was a silhouette of a person, who was watching them.

Her gasp of shock alerted the others that she had seen or heard something, and they turned towards her. Harry saw the scared look on her face and tucked her into his side, making her stand slightly behind him.

He had always been protective of her, Ron too for that matter, but since the Quiditch World Cup it had only grown worse. They didn't like her being on her own, not even when she was walking from class to class, and one of them was always with her. And at the odd times that they both couldn't be there, they would ask the twins or one of the other boys in their year to accompany her.

"What is it, Hermione? What did you see?"

Harry's voice was laced with concern, but before Hermione could utter a sound, someone else did.

"Aawh, how cute. Love between a bloodtraitor and a mudblood. You really do resemble your idiotic father, Potter."

Lucius Malfoy's voice sounded harsh and loud in the otherwise silent room. He stepped forward, out of the shadows so that the children could see him properly. After him other wizards and a witch stepped forward. Hermione could only recognise a few: the Lestrange brothers and their insane wife Bellatrix, the Russian wizard Dolohov and the incredible tall MacNair.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?"

While Harry was speaking, he pushed Hermione even more back and she felt Neville taking her in his arms while Ron stepped forward to stand next to Harry. Like she couldn't fight and needed to protected like a little child. When she looked around her for Luna and Ginny, she saw the two younger girls standing next to her two best friends, making a circle around her.

Neville clearly realised that Hermione didn't like being held back so they could protect her, not when two younger girls, who didn't know as much as hexes and curses as her, were standing there to protect her. He tried to sus her, like he would do for a little sister or cousin.

"Sssh, Hermione." He whispered in her ear, making sure that the others wouldn't hear him. "Be quiet, I won't let them hurt you and Harry and Ron won't let them hurt Ginny or Luna. You'll be safe. Just be quiet."

He just made it worse.

The oldest brother of the Lestrange's saw what was happening and couldn't help but let a smirk out and give his opinion on it.

"Look Lucius, they think that the little Mudblood can't defend herself. They are trying to protect her."

Hermione didn't appreciate his remark. She couldn't help it that they didn't want her to fight and made a protective barrier around her. She didn't even know why they did it. It wasn't like Ginny and Luna were so good in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

The other deatheaters all began to chuckle when they saw how the teenagers were positioned. It was pathetic really. Like she was worth their time.

"We aren't the only ones in this room who think that Mudblood's aren't as good with magic."

A man, who Hermione didn't recognise, spoke up. Some others nodded in agreement. Lucius however, didn't like the interruption. He snarled at them to be quiet, and then continued.

"Harry, give that prophecy to me. You don't know what is in it, and if Dumbledore, after all these years, still hasn't told you about it, are you sure you would want to know what it says? I promise that I won't hurt you, or your friends, if you give it to me."

His voice sounded soft and soothing, like a father would use on a distraught child. To Hermione it sounded familiar. Like she had heard him, or someone with almost the same voice, talking to her like that before.

Lucius continued talking, trying to talk Harry into giving him the ball containing the prophecy. Harry however, didn't like it and made this known.

"You are right. I've waited so long to finally know something about why he targeted my family." Here he held a pregnant pause. "I can wait a little longer."

Throwing the ball to the ground, he turned around and ran away, Hermione and the others following.


	3. Chapter 2

**May 4th 1983**

**Paris, French**

**Pavlov's Petite Boutique**

Some people would call Narcissa Malfoy cold, not capable of love, only interested in clothes and her appearance. However, these were the ones who didn't know her at all, who had never even talked to her or seen her in real live. They got their information from the Prophet, Witch Weekly and other papers, who didn't write stories which were true and based on facts, but rather stories which the public wanted to read and were completely made up.

People, who did know the former Black female, also knew that she was capable of love and emotions, but chose to only act on them in closed quarters. Rules of society and proper Pureblood behaviour were drilled in her when she was young, and it was hard not to act by them. As long as her husband and children knew that she loved them, she didn't mind what others thought of her. Those of lesser blood had never held any importance to her.

Her children were the most precious things in the world for her and they could do almost no harm. Her darling boy and her sweet angel, never before had there been two children who were so sweet and beautiful. Her dragon had taken the task upon him of protecting his little sister, saying that she was too small to do it herself. Emmalyn would let him, loving the attention she got from him and his friends. When his friend were over, the children often played 'protecting the princess', this was a game in which one or two were the evil people and the others had to protect the 'princess'. The characters of her babies were every time the same, Draco as protector and Emmalyn as princes.

Every time Narcissa thought about her darlings or whenever she saw them together, her heart would meld and a smile would appear on her face. She knew that Lucius had the same reactions, although he didn't show them as much. He loved them dearly, his son for being such a strong and smart boy and his daughter, or Papilio as he called her, for being so sweet and innocent.

It was a miracle, really, having the two children. They had been trying for years, getting a baby. Nine years if she was correct. During this period she had several miscarriages and the two times she did carry to term, the baby was already dead before the birth. It was devastating; a depression wasn't far off, for both her and Lucius. They would try only once more, confessing to each other that they couldn't take more of it. This time the baby did make it to term and her darling Draco Abraxas Aeneas Malfoy was born. He was perfectly healthy and after only a few months already showed his first bouts of accidental magic, showing that he would be an exceptional wizard when he was older.

Narcissa and Lucius couldn't have been happier with their son, and in one of their celebratory nights they weren't as careful as on others, and Narcissa was once again pregnant. Draco was born on September 14th, 1979, and when 1980 came by, they came to know that another baby would be born in their small family.

On the 19th of August, 1980, Emmalyn Oriana Cleo Malfoy was born. An even bigger miracle than her brother, for she was the first female in centuries who was born in the Malfoy family. Nobody knew how it came that, after that much miscarriages and still born babies, two healthy children were born, not even a year apart. Letter after letter arrived at the Manor, from newspapers who wanted to know what kind of cure or spell they had used and just asking questions about the family in general, to other Pureblood patriarchs who wanted to draw an arranged marriage between their own offspring and one of the Malfoy children.

This was a sore point by the Malfoy patriarch. He only just got his two darlings and to make contracts which would make him give them away, was a horrible thought. His son got a lot of propositions, for a lot of Pureblood families would want to tie themselves to the wealthy and influent House. Lucius knew he had to choose wisely, making the wrong decision could be a deathly one. For his daughter, he also got a lot of propositions, but for her there was already an arranged marriage in place. The next first born female in the Malfoy line would marry to one of the male's who belonged to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Pucey. This was contract was made up over two hundred years ago and was written in blood, which made it unbreakable.

The friendly voice of one of her socialite friends, Azzurra Zabini, woke Narcissa up from her thoughts.

"What do you think about this colour, dear? I heard that emerald green would be in fashion again next month. To have a dressrobe ready by then would be fanciful, don't you think?"

"Aah, it's truly a lovely colour, but I can't stand the dress. Those jewels at the top are a bit overboard. You would do better to look for another dress, but with the same colour."

There were only a few people with who Narcissa could be completely honest and Azzurra was one of them. They had been friends since before Hogwarts, were sorted together into Slytherin and their friendship had never lessened.

Azzurra looked again critically at the dress and had to agree with her friend. While the colour was simply incredible, the dress self was nothing special. A saleswoman was waved over to take the dress back, and the women continued to look for new clothes.

It was an hour later when a frantic looking house-elf plopped in front of them. The eyes were red rimmed and the ears were drooping down.

"Mipsy, what are you doing here? Hadn't I told the Master that I wasn't to be disturbed?"

At Narcissa's harsh words, the elf began to shake and almost couldn't speak.

"Mipsy is being sorry, Mistress. Mipsy ordered by Master to take Mistress home, little Mistress is gone."

"What do you mean, little mistress is gone! Where is my daughter?" At the news that something was wrong with her little Angel, Narcissa became anxious; she wanted to know what was wrong. Azzurra looked with sympathy at her. She knew how dear her children were to Narcissa, she had the same with Blaise.

"Go with the elf, Cissy. I will take care of everything here. Go home and ask Lucius what this is all about."

Her words were soothing, calming Narcissa enough to see the reason behind it and requesting the elf to take her to the Manor. Whoever had hurt her baby girl would wish he or she had never lived, if she got her hands on them.

* * *

**Wiltshire, England**

**Master Study, Malfoy Manor**

The portraits were rudely awakened by the abrupt appearance of the Mistress of the Manor and her demands of seeing her husband. She wanted to know why he had an elf take her from her shopping trip and why in Circe's name the elf had said that her daughter was gone.

She knew that Lucius had taken Emmalyn with him to the Ministry, because they didn't want to leave her unattended alone with some elves. But what could happen at the Ministry that would result in her daughter being gone?

"Come in."

The deep and strained voice of her husband bade her to open the door and step inside his sanctuary. The study was the most important room of the Manor, it being the oldest and most used one. Inside there were countless of priceless artefacts and contracts which were important to the history of Magical Britain. The portraits of the last two Malfoy patriarchs were hanging on the wall behind the bureau. Abraxas and Hyperion Malfoy, father and grandfather of Lucius Malfoy, were looking very worried, something she had never seen before on their painted faces.

"Cissy, darling, thank you for coming as quickly as you did. I know that you don't like to be interrupted on your shopping trips, but of too great importance to not call you home."

"The elf made it sound serious enough, especially when it told me that my daughter was gone. What did it mean with 'gone', Lucius? I don't want to lose her."

The desperation in Narcissa's voice was clear in the last sentence. Losing her daughter would be a too great of a loss, and a depression would follow most likely.

Lucius sighed deeply. After the imposter had fled through the Floo, he had tried to follow him, having heard to location to which he went, but the Floo-connection had already been cut off. After that he was questioned by Aurors, who were asking if he had any enemies who could have taken his child. His only response to this was a look which was an answer in itself. Some people didn't believe the story he had told about being Imperio'd by the Dark Lord. No, they thought him to be just as bad as the Black heir, who was imprisoned in Azkaban, if not worse.

Even though some people clearly thought him to be evil, his influence was still great in the Ministry. An old family name and money could buy everything, and so he had a huge part of the Aurors looking in the kidnapping of his daughter. He had promised a hefty sum of galleons for the wizard who could bring his Papilio back.

"Please sit down, Cissy, than I can start with telling what has happened."

The stern face of the Malfoy patriarch made that Narcissa followed his orders without complained.

"As you know, I had a meeting at the Ministry this morning and didn't want to leave Emmalyn alone with the elves. So I took her with me to the Ministry and dropped her off at the day-care for employees. At first she made a bit of a fuss about not getting to stay home and playing with the animals outside, but I got her to listen and could go to my meeting. Little more than half an hour later, I came back. The meeting was called off, because Unspeakable Ayers wasn't able to attend.

When I made it back to the day-care, I couldn't find Emmalyn. The lady who keeps taps on who's in and who left, told me that I had been there few minutes before and had taken the girl home with me. Of course I had been enraged when I heard this, because it was impossible. So the only possibility was that someone had pretended to be me and taken our daughter with him. I ran towards the entrance hall and heard there Alexander Zabini calling my name and then speaking with a man who looked exactly like me. It had to be Polyjuice. When I yelled that the bastard had my child, he was almost at the Floo. He wanted to escape with Emmalyn, who at that point started to cry and scream to be released. At the same time stopped the Polyjuice working and his appearance changed back. It was that horrible werewolf friend of your cousin; Lupin is his name I believe. Before I could hit him with a curse, he disappeared through the Floo. He called out Blackburn Lobby, if I'm right."

To say that Narcissa was shocked was an understatement. Her baby had been abducted, by the former best friend of her cousin, the cousin who she had once loved dearly. The werewolf was rumoured to have fought for the Light, but this action was definitely not light. Kidnapping a three year-old, under the pretence of her father, was a cruel thing to do. Her baby girl was probably scared out of her mind; not knowing what was happening and being without the protection of her family.

And Draco, how would they have to tell him that his baby sister, his Lyn as he called her, was gone. That a bad man had taken her and that they didn't know when she would return, if she would return. Ooh, she couldn't handle it. It was all too much. She so scarred for her little girl, so scarred. And with that last thought, she fainted.


	4. Chapter 3

**June 18****th**** 1996**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland**

**Slytherin Quarters **

A bleary eyed, pale skinned Prince of Slytherin was looking at the picture in his trembling hands. Whenever he saw that particular picture or any picture with her in it for that matter, he couldn't control his emotions. Anger, fear, shame, longing and many more; it was all raging through him, destroying the limited control he had. Hours of crying were on the usual recipe, along with destroying all kinds of personal belongings and school property. In the last few years, he could control his rage better, but still it were a few hours in which nobody dared to come close. It was one of the first lesson's the new snakes learned when they were sorted in the House of Slytherin.

Do not cross Draco Abraxas Phineas Malfoy; for it wouldn't end well if you did.

The Malfoy heir wasn't called the Prince of Slytherin for no reason. He was as cunning as could be, ambitious to the end and he only cared for himself and those close to him. The people, who were dear to his heart, were only a few: his Father, his Mother, some of his other relative's and most of all, his baby sister. In the first few years of his life, Draco was a caring and loving boy. However this changed when his parents told him that his sister was gone and they didn't know if she would ever come back.

The news killed the spirit inside of him and he transformed from a smiling, happy young boy into a silent, brooding, serious looking young man. He resented the world for taking someone away from him who he considered to be his. Emmalyn was _his _baby sister, she was _his _to play with and take care of, and he certainly didn't like it that someone thought that he could just take her away. If he ever got his hands on the wizard who had done this, there would be nothing left for the Aurors to find.

You could say whatever you want, but you had to admit that Lucius was a smart wizard. Draco couldn't hide his strong emotions from his parents and so he was never told who it was that had taken their precious daughter and sister. The elder Malfoy had known what Draco would do if he would come to know the identity of the kidnapper, and he didn't fancy seeing his son in Azkaban. Having lost his daughter was tough enough; he couldn't stand the idea of someone taking his son away of him too. He knew that Narcissa wouldn't survive it if that ever happened.

She hadn't been the same after that fateful day, becoming closed off and slowly sinking away in depression. It had taken years of sessions with mind healers for her to heal, but it was still a painful memory and always would be. She couldn't stand to look at little girls in Diagon Alley, they all reminded her of her baby girl. Tears would always be present in her eyes when she went to do some shopping.

Their family hadn't recovered from it either, becoming the cold and closed off family that the outside world thought them to be. Lucius and Narcissa still spent time with Draco, but it wasn't as good natured as before and they couldn't forget about the little girl that wasn't playing anymore with her big brother.

Even though Lucius had never told Draco that he knew who had taken Emmalyn, Draco had a suspicion that his father knew who the kidnapper was. It was something that he had picked up on the year before he was allowed to go to Hogwarts. On her birthday his father had started writing a letter. Draco, being the ever curious and suspicious little wizard, had wanted to know what it was about and for who it was. The letter was addressed to the Headmaster of the British school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, asking if he knew if there was a girl starting that year who was born in the month of August. He had also written down a name that the girl could have, but that was scratched through.

This caused Draco to do some research of his own when he came to Hogwarts for the first time. He had started to look for girls who resembled his sister. White blond hair, sky-blue eyes and a smile that could make snow melt; not one girl in his year had an appearance that looked like that.

Of course there were some girls with white blond hair, but their muddy brown or green or pale blue eyes didn't fit with the picture that he had in his head. Other girls had the sky-blue eyes, but it was combined with curly, red, brown or dirty blond hair. And none of them had the sweet, innocent, heart-warming smile that he remembered his sister having. Well, except for Granger that was. That girl was also as innocent and naïve as a little lamb, even when she was best friends with Potter and Weasel and on top of that a mudblood.

When he came back home in the summer between first and second year, he was disappointed. He hadn't found her, hadn't even come close to finding her. He clearly wasn't as good at protecting his Lyn as he thought he had been. Because, how could you protect someone when you couldn't even find them?

Like all the years before going to Hogwarts, he got a teacher appointed that had to help him study the material that they would cover in the coming year. His parents wanted him to be the best, like all Malfoy's had been in the past, and that meant he had to study hard and show them he knew how a pureblood wizard should behave.

One of the things he learned in the summer that year was about the Glamour Charm. This was a popular way to changes ones appearance. It could vary from a little altering in the colour of the eyes, to something which could change one's whole appearance. It intrigued him. Could his sister be under such a charm? Could she be with him at school, but he just couldn't find her because her physical appearance had changed?

He knew that she was still alive, but he just didn't know where she was. But he would find her, even if it would kill him.

In the years that followed he did all kinds of research, but he came no closer to finding her than that the Aurors had all those years ago. His mind made up all possible scenarios which could have happened, but he also thought about the years to come if he found her.

Draco had often fantasised how it would be when he got his sister back. Would she still be as depended on him as before, letting him help her with anything and everything? Would she still look up to him as he looked up to his Father, obeying his demands and commands without questioning? He could only hope so, for he only wanted the best for her and she didn't always know what was best for her.

The girl had been a genius when she was little, already being capable of reading when she was just three years old. Often was she found in their family's library, looking through books or studying and talking with the dozens of paintings that were hanging there. It wasn't always as healthy and that was where he came in. He demanded of her that she was going to play outside with him, in the fresh air, and she would happily comply. Of course his Mother had told him before that it wasn't healthy for a little witch to be inside all day long, and he had taken the task upon himself to make sure she wouldn't get sick because she stayed inside for too long. This was only one of the many things he had done to 'take care' of his little sister.

Another thing in his fantasies was that when she came back to him, she would be just as small and young as when she disappeared. The thought that he would miss her growing up into a young Lady was something he didn't like. He didn't like the thought of his Lyn all grown up as much as any father didn't like the idea of their precious daughter dating a boy. No, Draco was vastly protective of his baby Lyn.

With a last, quiet sob he dried his tears. It wouldn't do for others to find him crying like a girl, it would be a big blow to his reputation, but he did expect that the witches would love it. A big masculine man who wasn't afraid to show his emotions, which witch wouldn't like that? Maybe it was an idea which he could consider at a later date, for now it was time he went to dinner.

With a charm Draco made the evidence of his laps of control disappear. His skin turned from a little rosy pink around the eyes into his porcelain pale skin. His nose lost its red hue and his gorgeous, if he said so himself, white blond hair returned to its carefully messy state. Draco was a handsome young man, standing at a towering 6'2" and still growing. His eyes were a pale grey, with a hue of blue around the edges, and his mouth was made for perfection. All witches loved him, his appearance made them weak at the knees and when he gave them his confident smirk, they got wet in their knickers. He really liked this aspect, for he could get any witch he wanted.

Of course Draco had respect for the Pureblood traditions and customs, which said that all witches should still be as innocent as the day they were born when their wedding night came. And so he didn't pursue any witch of good breeding, only those who were of lesser blood and threw themselves at him. Draco had learned the art of love making when he turned fourteen, which was the customary age for a Pureblooded male to have their first woman. His Father had hired a Lady of Pleasure as his birthday gift, and he had taken lessons with her for over a year, because it wouldn't do for a male to not know how to please their woman.

"Draco, are you coming? Dinner was served half an hour ago."

The voice of one of his best friends made him snap back to reality. Theodore Nott was a scary wizard when you got on his wrong side, and keeping him from dinner really got you on his bad side. The last time that had happened, Draco had spent a week long saying he loved professor McGonagall when someone asked how he was doing. It was a horrifying week, especially that time when the Transfiguration teacher herself asked if he was fine. He lost the colour in his face as soon as he had seen her walking towards him. During the few weeks after that incident, he wasn't called up even once to answer a question.

"Yes, I'm coming. I just had to tuck away some pictures my Mother got me."

This was one of the code sentences he used for after he was done thinking about his sister. Everybody in the Wizarding World knew about the disappearance of the young Malfoy girl, but nobody knew how much it had hurt the family. Only the few friends dear to the family knew and so only his best friends knew the real meaning after the code-sentences he used.

After he really tucked away the pictures of his sister, he followed his friend towards the Great Hall. The route from the dungeons to the main floor was a long one. Dark, cold and scary for the first years, but you get used to it at last.

"So, where are you with that essay that McGonagall has assigned us? The one about transfiguring the food you want to eat."

"I'm almost done with it; I just have to write the conclusion. But I wanted to try and see if the spell works. I would die for some decent chocolate pudding."

A small chuckle could be heard. It was no secret that Draco was as fond of chocolate desserts as he was of green apples.

"I myself am finished already. My father has often told me the advantages of changing the food to something he liked. Our elves have never been great cooks."

Their conversation continued to be little small talk until they arrived at the Slytherin table. Because dinner had started some time ago, most of the students were already there. The sound of people eating and talking about today's events was heard all over the Hall.

The dinner continued as usual until a silver bat flew through the wall towards the Headmaster. Everybody fell silent; wanting to know what kind of urgent and important information would be delivered. It wasn't everyday that a Patronus would be used, an owl would be much more useful, because it wouldn't be heard be everyone who was near.

"Quick, you have to come. Potter and friends are seen in the Department of Mysteries. Deatheaters are on their way."

The deformed, but still recognisable voice of Professor Snape floated through the air. It was different than how he had ever spoken in class. The drawl in his voice, which made so many students over the years nearly wet their pants, was gone. It was replaced with a desperate tone. He wanted help and needed it now.

Almost all the Professors who were in attendance of the dinner quickly made their way towards the teacher's doorway. Only Hagrid, Professor Sinistra and Professor Trelawny stayed. Madam Pomfrey ran towards the great doors, calling out that she would make the Infirmary ready. Her hat, which she only wore when it was time for dinner, fell of her head. She didn't even notice, or if she did, didn't make any move to pick it up.

The Headmaster cast a Patronus, which he told that he and others would be there as soon as possible. McGonagall also cast a Patronus, this time it was a tabby cat that appeared, and told it to tell the members that they were needed at the Ministry.

All of this happened in only a few short seconds.

Draco was stumped. He didn't know what to do or to think.

His father would go no doubt to the Department of Mysteries. Only he would not fight on the same side as Potter and the Headmaster. For him, it was no surprise that it was said that Deatheaters would be there. When Potter came with the story that the Dark Lord had returned, he had known immediately that it was the truth. His aunt had talked about it for months, that in only a few months their saviour would come back. That Aunt Bellatrix was back from Azkaban was also a sign that it wouldn't last long before the whole world would know that the few years of peace wouldn't last long anymore.

Some of the students came out of their shock and the Prefects tried to get everybody to their commonrooms. It wouldn't do to let them just sit there and maybe come in danger. The commonrooms were the safest option.

Draco however felt empty. He didn't know how to react, he just hoped that it all would work out in their families favour.

He couldn't be more right.


	5. Chapter 4

**June 18****th**** 1996**

**Ministry of Magic, Britain**

**Hall of Prophecies **

His heart missed a couple of beats when he saw the Potter boy throwing the ball containing the prophecy on the ground. The splinters of glass flew everywhere, some even landed in his hair. Not that he cared at this moment; he had some more pressing matters on his mind.

The Dark Lord had been very clear when he explained the mission to him. Trick the boy in picking up the prophecy, get him to hand it over and then deliver the ball of glass safely and NOT broken to his Master. It had sounded so simple, but of course things could never go smoothly for once. Ever since the Heir of Slytherin had come into Lucius' life, all kinds of bad and unlucky events had happened to him. It started with losing his father to Dragon Pox – he still doubted that it was that sickening decease, he knew of some dark curses that had the same effects – and it ended now with the prophecy lying in a thousand pieces on the ground before him.

"Where are you waiting for? Go get them, alive!"

The rough voice of the second Lestrange son broke through his thoughts. He knew that Rodolphus and Rabastan were as scared for their own life's as he was at that moment. The failure of a mission was something that the Dark Lord punished dearly, even when the circumstances where out of your control, you would still be beaten and cursed until you were barely alive. It certainly wasn't a nice occasion to look forward to.

Around him the other followers of the Dark went to hunt down the insolent teenagers. They had known that Potter would probably take a few of his friends with him, for he wouldn't stand a chance against them alone. But they hadn't thought it would be this weird gathering of kids. It was no surprise that the youngest Weasley's and the Granger girl would be there, but what was a surprise was the wimp Longbottom and the crazy Lovegood. Draco had always told him that the young Longbottom had no backbone whatsoever and it was shocking that he was still here, facing the people who had tortured his parents into insanity. The Lovegood girl was also an unexpected person. Never had he heard that the Potter boy was close with that piece of weirdness.

He also knew that Bellatrix had recognised the young boy and had decided that she wanted to show him what she had done to his parents. He himself went to follow the Potter boy and Granger girl, together with the Lestrange brothers.

* * *

"Run, Hermione, run faster!"

Harry tried to get her to listen, to get her to run faster. He wanted her away from here, she wasn't safe here and he needed her safe.

Hermione Jane Granger was what kept him sane. She was, with her sweet innocence and naivety, the balsam to his injuries, his insecurities. In her eyes nobody could be evil, she even believed that Voldemort wasn't entirely evil, but rather that he was shaped that way because of everything he had seen and lived through. It was a nice experience to have somebody who believed in you, who would do anything for you and he wouldn't let some stupid Deatheaters take her away from him.

No, in Harry's still childlike brain of emotions, Hermione was classified as his. She was the first one to show him that she cared about him and that she would always stand by his side. So for someone who had never thought that someone could care about him, that meant a lot. Harry had never had something to call his own and to now have someone there for him meant that he possessively thought of her as his. She was his Hermione, his friend and he would keep his things safe because he only had a little.

"Harry, I can't go faster, my legs will fall off. You have to go yourself, try to get back to Hogwarts and get help. I will try to keep them off, but please go."

Her voice was desperate and Harry knew that Hermione couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. She had never been the athletic type, preferring to stay inside and to read, but he needed her to go faster. He would not let her behind and get caught, not while he had still the chance to safe her.

"No, I will not leave you. We will go together or not at all, but I will never let you alone when it isn't safe for you to be on your own."

With this answer he pulled her with him to take another turn. He could still hear their pursuers; they weren't that far behind them and he was scared for what they would do when they finally captured them. It wouldn't be a nice little chat over a cup of tea, of that he was certain.

Shouting was coming from the other side of the massive room. It sounded painful, but he wasn't sure who it was that was in pain. He just hoped that it wasn't one of his friends. Harry had always hated putting others in danger because of him. It was an admirable feat, but it was also a deadly one. It could just as easily get himself killed, just because he was loath to put others into the path of danger. But he knew that Neville and Ron would look out for the two younger girls, they would do everything in their power to keep them safe, just like he would do with Hermione.

Another loud scream made his curly haired friend stumble over her feet. Her face was devoid of all colour, leaving a pale ghastly complexion behind. Little treads of sweat were traveling down her face, eyes looking back and forth like a wild animal.

All of this made it even clearer for Harry that he had to take her to safety. His petite friend wasn't made for this kind of action; her place should be in a library, curled up with a thick book and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Everyone who looked at her could see that she was the kind of witch that had to be protected, cherished and kept away from the harsh ways of the outside world. Her petite frame of just 5'4'' was small enough to sometimes pass up like a young girl a couple years younger. Dark brown curls framed her face in the most innocent way, reaching down to almost her hips. Her big honey brown eyes were always filled with such warmth and love, that nobody in his or her right mind would dare to hurt her. And still here they were, getting hunted like they were some kind of animals.

"Harry, there, I see a door. That could be our way out."

Hermione's hopeful voice made that picked up his pace even more and dragged her even faster towards the now visible door towards their right. Their pursuers had also noticed the door and were too trying to go faster, hoping that they could capture them before they were gone.

"Rab, stun the boy. Dolphus, you the girl. I will make sure that the door won't be opened."

Lucius Malfoy's commanding voice cut through the silence. It was filled with hope and despair; he wanted to take the boy down and get him to his Master. The mission hadn't gone like he wanted and now he had to think of something so that the Dark Lord wouldn't be only displeased. He had to have something to make it up.

Two twin lights of pale red hurdled through the room towards the boy and girl that would be on the receiving end of the spells. A second before the stunners hit, Harry turned his head. His eyes grew comically wide when he realised what would happen. Before he could even utter a sound, the red lights hit their mark, Hermione not even aware what had hit her.

* * *

A vine wood wand, it was probably for someone who was adept at Healing Charms and normal Charms. A closer look proved this to be right when he found some runes written along the shaft of the wand. They were protective runes, meant for love and health. It would be a good wand to have for a Pureblood girl, for a female should cherish life and not be tempted by the darkness. However, it was owned by some lowlife mudblood and would be forever tarnished.

Rabastan had given him the wand after they had taken the two teenagers down. They now had the two main figures of the group of children and were discussing what they should do with them.

A simple option would be to kill them both, but the Dark Lord had repeatedly told them that he wanted to be the one that had killed the Boy-That-Just-Wouldn't-Die. Maybe the girl would be fair game, but until they were sure it would be best not to make such a drastic move.

In the meanwhile Rodolphus had given his baby brother the order to search the youths, maybe they had some important objects with them. The first one to be search was of course the Boy-Who-Lived; after all he was the most dangerous one of the two.

The first thing Rabastan showed them was the boy's wand, eleven inches of holly. It was hard for Lucius to pinpoint but he thought that it was a wand made for Defence Against the Dark Arts and maybe some transfiguration. Other things that came out of the boy's pockets were broken quills, candy paper, and an old piece of parchment, nothing special at all.

Next was the girl. Even though it was quite late in the evening, she still had her school uniform on so there were no pockets for her to hide something in. This didn't matter at all for Rabastan, he still started searching her. He knew that there were some quite genius tricks for women to hide object on their body. Nothing was found, her socks didn't contain a secret vial of potion and she hadn't hid something beneath her skirt.

Lucius was quite disappointed at what they had discovered. There was nothing that could hint at an elaborate plan to take down their Master, not that he had suspected that they would find such a thing, but it was still a big disappointment.

His moment of self-pity was interrupted by a shocked gasp from the young Lestrange. The man was sitting on his knees next to the still Granger girl and his white face was staring at something that was between her breasts. With a shaking hand he reached up to see it was real and not something from his imagination. The necklace, which was hidden underneath her thick school clothes, was real. He could touch it, he could move it, he could…

"Rabastan, speak up. What is it that has you so shaken? Can you see the mud that is her blood?"

Lucius tried to make his voice sound sneering and filled with disgust, but he couldn't quite manage it. He knew that his young friend wasn't easily shocked, years of training by his Pureblood fathers and brother had made sure of that, so he was a little anxious, wanting to know what had scared the young man like that.

"Lucius, when little Emmalyn disappeared, she was wearing her grandmothers necklace right? The one that your mother was given as a bridal gift by her own mother, Gwenaëlle Lestrange? The necklace that was a family heirloom of the Lestrange family?"

At this, Rabastan had gotten the attention from both of the other men. Emmalyn was still a sore subject for the Malfoy family and probably always would be, and a family heirloom was something that was always taken seriously. Each heirloom had their own secret kind of magic, it was often magic that was characteristic for that particular family and heirlooms were never freely given to outsiders.

"Why are you asking? And yes, that was the necklace she was wearing that day. It was her favourite as my mother had given it to her on her third birthday. But why are you asking all of this, what has it to do with the mudblood?"

Instead of answering the questions asked by the elder Malfoy, Rabastan started talking again, like he was confirming what he was thinking when he said it out loud.

"The Lestrange family is a very old one, one could say that they are even older that the Blacks because of their excellent hiding skills. The magic, in which we are so competent in, is magic that is developed to hide things, to conceal it. Magic's like Glamour Charms. So a family heirloom would have these skills too and would protect the wearer of the necklace, when it is needed, by masking it. If a Glamour Charm is spoken over the wearer than the necklace would only enhance it, making it so that no one would even detect the Glamour. It would make the ideal weapon to hide someone."

While his brother was rambling on about Glamour's and other spells to conceal, Rodolphus shared a look with Lucius. It was clear to the older one that the father of two had no idea where the Lestrange male was talking about. Even he didn't get why his brother was rambling on and on about the sensitive subject, but he knew that Rabastan would have a very good reason to.

"Rabastan, get to the point. You are torturing the poor man with this talk about his daughter."

"Wha… Oh, I'm sorry Lucius. I just had to think something through, and now I have thought about it, it makes excellent sense. I would bet you all that I have that this young girl here, is subjected to an extensive Glamour Charm and, well this part is a gamble, but I think that this could be your little girl."

At this explanation it was silent for a few long minutes. Lucius was trying to work out what he was just told. This girl here, the Mudblood best friend of Harry bleeding Potter, could be his darling daughter, his little Papilio, his sweet little Emmalyn. He couldn't comprehend it, he had searched for her for years, never getting any closer to finding her. The Aurors had tried, the Unspeakable's had tried, even his own son had tried to look for the little Malfoy female without any luck whatsoever. And now here was a young men, who had just spent the last thirteen years in a prison which was rumoured to let you go insane, had said that he thought he knew where Emmalyn was.

And he didn't just know where she was hiding, but she could be the girl that was only a few feet away from him. If he wanted he could touch his daughter for the first time in more than twelve years. He could hold her, he could talk to her, he could…

He didn't even know for sure that it was his daughter. Instead of daydreaming here about what he could finally do with her, he should make sure that it was really his daughter and not some little thief that had stolen the necklace of his mother.

With this firmly decided Lucius moved to sit on the other side of the girl. The necklace immediately caught his eye, lying on the naked skin of the girl's chest. It looked exactly like the ornament his mother had always worn and given to his only daughter. It was a goblin hand-made necklace with flowery patterns made of the finest saltwater pearls. In one word: beautiful.

"We have to take the pendant off of her to see if she really wears a Glamour, am I right?"

His voice was quiet, soft spoken. Rabastan and Rodolphus could hear his anxiety, which they understood entirely. A part of the elder Malfoy had died on the day that his daughter was taken away from him and now he could get her back, if it really was her that was.

"Yes, that would be the most logical thing to do. I believe that the necklace and the girl's own magical core are the ones that are supplying the charm with enough power to hold up. Normally a Glamour is not that powerful that it can last for over a decade. It should be cast anew for a few times already if it wasn't for the pendant. Lucius, would you try to take it off? I believe that her magic would react most kindly to one it should recognise."

Rodolphus gave Lucius some instructions on how he should proceed. Shaky hand travelled towards the mystery girl's neck and then, in one smooth move, removed the necklace from her body. A surge of magic was felt at the removal and the female body, which lie still between them on the floor, was starting to glow. The light that generated from her became brighter and brighter until all three man were blinded by it.

Later on, the other occupants of the massive room stocked with prophecies would tell them that they too had seen the blinding light and for a few seconds couldn't see a thing. The duels were ceased for a few minutes while the participants tried to find their bearings. It was now that Ron suddenly became aware of the fact that his two best friends were missing. The Order members were already there and Ron tried to signal for Sirius and Remus to follow him. He had to find his friends.

Back at the far end of the room, which hadn't seen living people in quite a few years, the three men got their vision back. Lying between them, like an innocent babe, was not the same girl as before. No, this girl was smaller, more petite and her hair was just a white blond as that of one of the men that were surrounding her.

**.nl/imgres?imgurl= . &amp;imgrefurl= armsdani/expensive-things-3/&amp;h=236&amp;w=236&amp;tbnid=dP8sW4t5sSpj9M:&amp;zoom=1&amp;docid=BBPKCkwbKpqpmM&amp;ei=AyDyVNerBMXdPbj3gfAP&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ved=0CC0QMygNMA0 **

**This is the link that shows how I image that the necklace looks like.**

_I hope you all enjoy reading this story as I certainly enjoy writing it. I appologise for the long wait for this chapter, but I'm making the story up as I go and it is sometimes hard to write if you don't know where you want the story to go._

_I also want to thank the people who reviewed the story, for I was pleasantly suprised by the reactions that I have gotten._

_So thank you all again, and until next time :)_

_LoveForBooks 'p_


	6. Chapter 5

**June 18****th**** 1996**

**Ministry of Magic, Britain**

**Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Administrative Registration Department**

Like always it was a quiet day at the office, only a handful of people would come in there each week. Most of the time it were blissfully happy parents wanting to report the birth of a child or distraught family members, having to report the death of a loved one.

Sneakily, having hid the tabloid behind a thick book about Pureblood Family Laws, junior justice Patrick Dankworth was reading the latest edition of PlayWitch. The tabloid was a popular one by the young wizards of the British Wizarding World, often featuring a few Veela women for some pretty sexual photos. Most of the old Pureblood Families didn't approve of the tabloid, it being not up to the standards of the aristocratic Houses, but nevertheless it was a well appreciated 'newspaper' in general.

The young man was so engrossed in the article he was reading that he didn't hear his superior stepping inside. The man who came in was a thin, gangly, pale looking old man. His clothes were made of some fine Acromantula silk, with the embroidery on his mantle showing a red with blue phoenix spreading it wings. Kind honey brown swept along the mostly empty room until they rested on the oblivious young man sitting behind a bureau filled with books and parchment.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he purposefully bumped into another desk which caused that some folders fell onto the ground. The sudden noise that filled the, until then, quiet room, made that Patrick shot up from his chair in shock.

"M-mister Derippe, I-I w-wasn't expe-expecting you here t-tonight."

"Calm down, young mister Dankworth, do not worry. Even I, at my old age, have appreciated the simplicity of some of the creations of that particular magazine, but that is not the reason why I'm here tonight."

Here he paused, looking for his next words. It was a delicate matter that he had to investigate, if he had it wrong it could mean that this would be the last assignment he would ever do at the Ministry. For a man who had gotten a position at this office directly after his graduation from Hogwarts, it meant that he would lose his life work. He loved his work, filing away all kinds of different information about all the people in the British Magical World. He wouldn't be able to live without his work, for he didn't have a social life outside it.

"Maybe you have heard of the tragic disappearance of a little girl, more than twelve years ago. She was taken when her father had an appointment with his solicitors here at the Ministry. A still unidentified man had taken on the appearance of her father and then took her from the day-care, letting everybody think he was indeed the little one's sire. The real father had come back earlier than expected and caught the imposter in the act of abducting his little girl. Unfortunately he escaped, and took the girl with him. Nobody has seen or heard from her since, it has driven the family mad and many other Pureblood families have taken to guard their offspring even more closely."

Patrick looked with wide eyes at his superior. The girl would have been abducted in the year before he started at Hogwarts and he now remembered how his mum had given him and his little brother more and more strict rules to follow when they were playing outside or when they were somewhere outside of their mansion. He couldn't recall ever hearing the reason why his mother became so strict about those rules, but hearing this story he could imagine his parents being scared that their children would also be taken.

"May I ask who the little girl is, or to which House she belongs to? It is an important Pureblood Family isn't it?"

The question was timid, but filled with great curiosity.

"Because it is some information that is free to the general public, I can indulge your question Mr. Dankworth. The girl was indeed a member of an important House, the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy lost that day the first female born in their family in more than two centuries. It was a devastating day to all Pureblood Families in the British Isles."

A few minutes long there was an all-consuming silence in the office, with Mr. Derippe caught up in his memories of that day and the ones following it and the young Mr. Dankworth trying to imagine what kind of impact it would have had on the family members that were left behind. Lord Malfoy's hostile behaviour didn't seem so weird anymore and he now understood why most Purebloods ignore it. They forgave him because of the reason why he was so bitter, after something like that everyone would have a closely guarded heart.

"But that was more than twelve years ago, why are you here today about that case, sir? Did you find a new angle?"

"After searching for over twelve years, it is hard to find a new angle in such an abduction case. The biggest lead that we had at first was our prime suspect, but the alibi he got from a very powerful person made that we couldn't search him further. After that, there was nothing that we could use to find her, it was depressing. But in the last couple of years some Unspeakables have developed a trace which we can put onto someone's magic and that will inform us when that person is in the Ministry. I've put the bell of this particular trace inside my own personal study at home and tonight, after so many years, I finally heard the bell chiming."

The senior Justice's voice was filled with warmth and hope and it worked contagious on his junior partner.

"Emmalyn Malfoy is here at the Ministry. We have to inform her family."

~~*~~*~(**REFOUND DAUGHTER**)~*~~*~~

**Wiltshire, England**

**Informal sitting room, Malfoy Manor**

'_The mind is a strange object, filled with secrets of which the most probably will never be discovered. It is an ingenious network of all kinds of links and passages. Blocking even one little passageway could have dire consequences for the witch or wizard, blocking more than one could result in blocking the magical core and thus resulting in the death of the person. When the magical core is blocked in suchlike way, the magic will find another way to free itself of the wandwielder. Most of the time will this result in burning form the inside out, a most painful death. However, if the passageway gets unlocked before something like this happened, there could be hope.'_

A deep sigh escaped Narcissa Malfoy's mouth as she closed the book. Even reading a highly interesting book about Mind Magicks was not enough to take her mind off of the things that were happening at the moment. Her son was probably eating dinner at Hogwarts with his friends right now, her husband was risking his life while he tried to secure a prophecy ball which held the prophecy about the Dark Lord and the Boy-Who-Lived and she had no idea where her daughter was, or if she was even alive.

The tapestry, which held all the family members from the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy from the time when the Founders build Hogwarts until now, was located inside the study of the Head of House. The tapestry was magical, linked to the blood of the Malfoys and registered all the members, when they were born, married, produced offspring and died. While she was relieved that there was no death date next to her daughter's name, the diagram that was present behind the name was worrisome.

It was a big black oval with inside of it a blood red 'M' and three poison green brushes of a painting pencil were covering the oval in a curling fashion in horizontal direction. It had appeared on the 12th of July, 1984, more than two months after Emmalyn was taken away from them. They had asked all their ancestors if they knew what the diagram meant, but the answer was always negative. Even specialists from the Ministry said that they didn't know what it meant; only that she wasn't death, otherwise that information would have appeared on the tapestry itself.

While it brought some relieve knowing that her youngest child wasn't dead, Narcissa was desperate for some information about her daughter, even if it was something as little as knowing that she did well in school, where ever that may be. But over the years nothing came, no information and no new leads to where she could be. It was a painful time and she only hold on because of her other child; her dragon needed her to be there for him, because he too struggled with the disappearance of his sister.

The months after the kidnapping, all Draco did was searching the Manor and grounds for some sign of his Lyn. When he came back in the afternoon from his excursions, he was crying his little heart out. Nothing she and Lucius did could make it better, because they too felt the numbing pain and they could only hold him and reassure him that his Mother and Father wouldn't disappear too.

On his fifth birthday, September 14th of that year, made Draco a promise to himself. He would learn as much as he could and with everything he would learn, he would be one step closer to discovering where his baby sister was hiding. He owed it to her to do his best and find her; it was his duty as her older brother and next in line to the position of Head of House. So in the years before his first year at Hogwarts, Draco made sure to study all he could and excel in everything he did. It didn't make a difference to him if that was studies, flying or making someone else do his bidding, he was the best in it.

Narcissa sighed again, feeling sad for her only son. He lost so much at such a young age; her heart went out to him. Green lights in the fireplace stole her attention away from her thoughts. It was late in the evening and she didn't expect someone to firecall her tonight. A well-aged face with kind honey brown eyes looked into the room.

"Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy, are you there? I have some important information for you, may I come through?"

The voice of a man she had become quite accustomed to in the last decade, was heard. Her mind immediately started working hard, looking for answers why this particular man was asking for an audience.

"Of course Mr. Derippe, please come through."

After brushing some invisible dirt from her robes, Narcissa stood up. Calling a House Elf for some refreshments for her and her visitor was done in a few seconds and only moments later did the old man come through the Floo. Like a true Pureblood gentleman he stepped out of it gracefully, no stumbling and not even speck of dirt on his expensive suit.

"Mister Derippe, welcome to Malfoy Manor, can I offer you some refreshments?"

Proper protocols should always be followed when allowing a guest into one's home, even in dire situations, and so it came that Narcissa and Alan Derippe found themselves enjoying some green tea with biscuits a little while later.

"Now, mister Derippe, you told me you had some important information which you wanted to share with me and my husband? Could you please elaborate?"

"Of course, Madam Malfoy, but if I may ask, where is Lord Malfoy? I have some information of which I'm certain that he would want to know too, as it is about your missing daughter."

"Do you mean you have found her, oh please tell me where she is. I have to know."

The desperate tint in her voice wasn't lost on both of the participants, but proper etiquette bid them to ignore it. Alan took a deep breath, thinking about how he should tell the mother that her missing daughter was identified to be at the Ministry at the moment.

"Madam Malfoy, I am pleased to tell you that we have finally picked up on Emmalyn's magical signature. The tracking says that she is at the Ministry at the moment, but we do not yet know where exactly. Several Aurors are informed and are, as we speak, searching the whole building, if I'm correct there are even some Unspeakables helping to track your daughter down."

Tears of happiness and delight were streaming down Narcissa's face. She couldn't believe it, after so many years was her baby finally found. She could come home and they would be a family again. Her dragon would be able to finally smile a genuine smile and not some half-hearted one that never reached his eyes. Lucius would have his Papilio back and would be able to let his mask fall and just be a happy man again. She couldn't believe it, the news was just unbelievable.

Then another thought hit her, she had to inform Lucius. He was at the Ministry and could help them seek for Emmalyn. He would want to know that she was there, if she didn't tell him he would get angry and upset with her for not telling him sooner. And Draco, he had to know to. He had to come back from school as he would want to be present if his sister came back. He would get upset and angry if she didn't inform him, just like Lucius.

"Mister Derippe, would you excuse me for a second? I have to inform my husband and son of this new information, they would want to know. My husband is currently at the Ministry and could help them search for her."

"Of course Madam Malfoy, that would only be expected of you. I will go and inform some of the St. Mungos Healers, we do not know in what kind of state she is in."

After saying his final goodbye's and promising to keep her updated stepped the old gentleman through the Floo, back to his office. Narcissa didn't waste a second and immediately produced a corporeal Patronus, sending it with a message to the Lord of the Manor. She knew that at first as he saw her tigress Patronus he would be angry and annoyed, for he didn't like to be interrupted when away on a mission, but once he would hear the news, he would be ecstatic.

Now she had to go to Hogwarts to get her son. It would be difficult to get permission to take him with her, but this was an important family emergency and knew that in those situations pupils were allowed to return home for an undecided period of time.

Turning towards the fireplace, she picked up the box that contained the Floo-powder and called out: "Hogwarts, Headmaster's study".

~~*~~*~(**REFOUND DAUGHTER**)~*~~*~~

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland**

**Slytherin Quarters **

After the initial shock of seeing the bat-like Patronus and hearing that Deatheaters were after Potter and his minions at the Ministry wore off continued the dinner like usual. Well, it did for the Slytherins. The other Houses were a little bit preoccupied with everything that had happened and what was said.

Now, a few boys from the fifth year and up were sitting in comfortable chairs around the fireplace. They were discussing what had happened and the other strange occurrences of that year.

A Ministry send woman named Dolores Umbridge should have been their Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts, but when the Board of Directors heard that she only gave lessons which consisted out of reading a book that was outdated by almost a century, they were furious. How could their children learn any defence if they weren't allowed to practice? After some investigation it came clear that Umbridge herself never even got her O.W.L.'s in the subject, so how could she teach a class full of N.E.W.T students?

So, after only a month of classes they already got a new teacher. This time it was an Auror, but after the fiasco of last year they first subjected him to a questioning under Veritaserum. He passed with flying colours.

This man was named Aldric Doswell, a senior Auror who had started the Auror-training in the same year as Alastor Moody. His lessons were considered to be the best that the school had seen in a long time, only the year when Remus Lupin taught were on the same level. One lesson in the week was spent on duelling, having to use the spells that they had learned in that week. Beside the protective spells they also learned Healing spells, the reason being that if they were injured they should be able to take care of minor injuries themselves. Never had Madam Pomfrey less patients than this year.

"Nott, I take it that your father is at the Ministry as well tonight?"

Theodore Nott confirmed this with a firm nod; he had never been much of a talker. Studying was a second nature to the boy, because his father was just as strict as Lucius Malfoy was, only accepting the best from their sons. Only the punishments when they didn't do as expected were different, the elder Nott was a big fan of harsh punishments such as using a Crucio and other very painful hexes. Draco could count himself lucky that his father didn't like using physical punishments; he was usually banned from flying his broom and visiting his friends.

"I heard that there was a mission planned by the Dark Lord, involving a prophecy, is this the one?"

Startled the boys looked up, behind them stood Pansy Parkinson with a smug and curious expression on her face. Pansy was the biggest gossip in Slytherin, only the Patil twins and Lavender Brown exceeding her.

"Pansy, if your father did not think it was necessary to inform you of His wishes, than we will respect his decision and keep our information away from you. Now, run along, little one."

The deep baritone of Adrian Pucey was gentle and kind, but firm enough to make Pansy listen. He was one of the oldest members of the House of Slytherin and being a Pureblood male made that the younger years had to listen to him, especially the girls. Some people may think this to be unfair towards women, but in the Pureblood world it was the man that filled the role of leader and protector. Women were meant to stay safe and not put into harm's way, so if a male decided something then a female would have to listen, even when it went against their wishes. A male put a female's safety first, so if this meant that the female couldn't do what she wanted than it was a pity for her, but it wasn't going to happen.

And so it happened that Pansy bowed her head, muttered an apology and went back to her female friends. She knew that she couldn't ignore his command, because if she did then the Head of Slytherin would be told as well as her Head of House. A punishment and a stern talking to would await her then when she got home, as well as instructions for Professor Snape to make sure that she knew her place.

After some more talking and no more interruptions from curious girls and younger years, it was time for their nightly glass of Ogden's Finest. In the traditional Pureblood families it was tradition that when a boy was in his fifth year, then his family considered him to be almost an adult. This gave him some more responsibilities, but also privileges like drinking Firewhiskey when they were not yet considered an adult by the Ministry. A girl was not considered to be an adult by her family until she was married, so she had to follow the rules which her male relatives had made up.

They had just poured the Ogden's in the glasses when they were rudely interrupted by a House Elf. The small creature wore a filthy pillowcase which had the Hogwarts crest on it, it's eyes looked around until they settled upon Draco and the Elf bowed to him.

"Master Malfoy, Professor McGonagagly is asking for Master. Pilly had to take Master to Mother of Master."

Its screechy voice was irritating the boys, but Draco didn't pay any attention to that. He was too busy with thinking of reasons why his mother would demand his presence. The only thing he could come up with was that his Father's mission went wrong, and he certainly hoped that that wasn't the reason.

"Pilly, take me to my Mother, at once."

At his order the Elf immediately snapped his fingers together and the next second they were in Professor McGonagall her office. It was a not a big room, but because the only furniture was a big bureau, chairs which stood in front of it and a couple of bookcases filled with all kinds of books, it definitely looked larger than that it was.

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in one of the three chairs in the room; Professor McGonagall was sitting in another. Both had serious looks on their faces, but he could also see an excited look in his mother's eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy, please take a seat. Your mother has something important to tell you."

"Yes, please sit down, my son. I had a visitor tonight, maybe you remember him, Mr. Derippe. He was one of the leading figures in the search for your sister."

"He was looking for Emmalyn? Why was he at our home, has he found her? Please, Mother, tell me he has found her."

The desperate tone in his voice wasn't missed on both women and professor McGonagall was surprised to see that a Slytherin could show so much emotion.

"Oh, Draco, he has found her. Emmalyn her magical signature was picked up at the Ministry. A few Aurors and Unspeakables are as we speak searching the whole Ministry looking for her. They will find her and bring her home, they have to."

What happened next, shocked Minerva McGonagall even more then when she found out that Harry Potter would attend Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin, was crying. Tears of happiness were streaming down his face and he threw his arms around his mother who couldn't keep her eyes dry either.

"She is coming home, Emmalyn is coming home. But, Mother, she is fine, right? She isn't hurt, isn't she?"

"No, my dragon, Emmalyn will be fine. She will be alright and we will become a family again. Everything will be fine."


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, **

**I'm terribly sorry for the long time you guys had to wait for a new chapter, but here it finally is :)**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

**June 18****th**** 1996**

**Ministry of Magic, Britain**

**Hall of Prophecies **

A small button nose stood above full rosy pink lips that were in a natural pout. The heart-shaped face was surrounded by white blond hair that looked like silk. The locks weren't curly, but they weren't straight either. Wavy, the hair was wavy.

Further assessment of the body showed that it was elfish-like small; it couldn't stand any taller than 5 feet. Just like it was small, it was also really petite. The waist was so thin, that the hands of a fully grown man could wrap around it entirely. Her own small hands, for the body was definitely female, began to flutter.

"She is waking up; do we stun her again or ask her who she is?" The small trembling in the younger Lestrange's voice was the only indicator that what had happened had shaken him terribly. After all, it isn't every day that you come to know that the girl, a niece, who you had thought to be dead or worse, was still well and alive. And on top of that, she was lying before you like an innocent babe. This was definitely a rather large shock for all three men.

Lucius could do nothing but stare down at the small girl lying in front of him, head turned towards his direction. Ragged breathing was the only thing that belied that he wasn't dead. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he reached up to stroke her cheek. The skin was soft beneath his fingers, not one blemish marred her appearance.

He just couldn't believe it. After so many years of searching and praying that he would find her, she was finally here. To him it didn't matter that just ten minutes ago he thought her to be a filthy mudblood, he was wrong and now she was the purest, sweetest and most innocent creature alive. She was his daughter and that made everything better.

"Emmalyn, is it really you, my Papilio? Are you really back? Oh, Merlin thank you, thank you, thank you!" His last words were almost yelled and tears from happiness fell down his face. By now his fingers weren't just stroking her cheek, but they traced patterns all over the slender angelic face, trying to memorize it as good as possible.

"Daddy? What happened to me? Mummy?"

The small voice that met their ears sounded scared, vulnerable. Like it belonged to a girl much younger than the one lying on the ground.

"Sssh, baby girl, it's alright. Everything is alright again, don't you worry. Just go back to sleep, daddy will take care of you." The emotion inside Lucius' voice made that Rodolphus looked at him strangely. Never before had he heard such tenderness when the elder Malfoy spoke, it was unheard of.

However, Rodolphus wasn't the only one who looked completely weirded out at his tone of voice. The small witch had finally opened her eyes and looked now with horror filled eyes at the blond male. They could see the cogs and wheels' turning inside her mind, trying to figure out what was happening.

"You're not daddy… Daddy has brown hair and brown eyes, not blond and grey… why are you saying that you're my daddy?"

Due to the aftermath of the spell-lifting, Hermione her mind wasn't working as fast as it usually did. She was trying to remember what had happened, but couldn't concentrate on anything except the blond male who had now lifted her into his lap. His hands were tracing her face, neck, arms and torso like he was trying to reassure himself that she was really there. He looked vaguely familiar, like she had seen him or someone who looked like him, before. Yet, her brain wasn't willing to co-operate and figure out who he was and what had happened.

"Are you an angel?"

The question just tumbled out of her mouth; Hermione had no idea where it came from. Because, well, angels didn't exist, right? Of course, before her eleventh birthday she also didn't believe that magic was real, but an angel was a whole category on its own. If angels were real, than God was real too and she had never heard a Pureblood say anything that proved that they believed in something supernatural.

A quiet chuckle, which quickly turned into full-blown laughter, startled her from her musings. To her left were two dark-haired men whom she hadn't noticed before. The first one, who had Harry and her wands in his hand, looked to be the youngest. He had curly dark brown, almost black hair, while the other man had straight hair that was pulled together in a low ponytail at the base of his neck.

"Hello doll, don't be afraid, we won't hurt you. Your daddy would kill us if we even think about hurting you." The curly haired man had seen the fear in her eyes and tried to reassure her, but of course this didn't work for the suborn girl. The daze, in which she had been since she woke up, was finally disappearing and everything became clear again.

The faces of the men in front of her were clearly familiar; she had seen them before somewhere, but where? Quickly, her mind ran through images of all the men that she knew, or had come across of in a book or paper. After a few seconds in which the men all held their breath, she let out a gasp. The Lestrange brothers, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, they were some of the most faithful followers of the Dark Lord, right after Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy.

That last thought made that she froze entirely. The man that had taken her onto his lap had the same white blond hair as her archenemy at school and his father; they had even the same haughty expression. As far as she knew, there were no other Pureblood families with the same characteristics, so that could only mean one thing: Lucius Malfoy was the one who had taken her to sit on his knees.

"Let me go… Let me go, you- you Deatheater."

Her small insult, which you couldn't even call a real insult for it was the truth, didn't do anything for her. Lucius only tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to his chest. One of his hands found its way towards the back of her head, forcing it to rest on his torso, right there where his heart was. Hermione's weak struggling stopped when she heard the beating of his heart; it was soothing in a way that she had never come across before.

"Sssh, little one, you are safe here. I would never dare to hurt you. Now be a good girl and go back to sleep. Daddy, uncle Dolphy and uncle Basta will make sure that nothing will hurt you and we will get you home safely, okay baby girl? Just go back to sleep, daddy is here."

For some reason that Hermione couldn't explain, she was compelled to listen to him. Her eyes began to feel heavy and she had to fight to keep them open. A huge yawn escaped her mouth before she could mask it and slowly but surely she felt herself succumbing to the warm blanket of unconscious. All the while when the hand that was resting on her hair, began to stroke her, lulling her even faster into blissful sleep.

However, before she was completely gone, a loud shout was heard from the aisle behind them.

"Get away of them, you filthy Deatheaterscum, take your dirty paws off of her."

A young redheaded boy, with a face that was almost just as red, was advancing on them with anger clearly written all over his face. He kept his wand rather steadily trained on the three men on the floor, dangerous looking red sparks escaped from the tip. Behind him stood two other males, one with unkempt black hair and silver eyes, the other with sandy brown hair and bland brown eyes. The men were obviously older then the teenage boy, standing a little taller and with more wrinkles in the face.

"Malfoy, release the girl and hand both of them over. If you don't, we will hurt you."

Sirius Black's voice sounded deadly serious. Over the last few years he had developed a liking for the small bookish girl and of course for his godson. He saw both of them like his surrogate children, the boy as his heir and son and the girl as a sweet, innocent and beautiful daughter, just like he had always dreamed of having. He knew that Harry and Hermione saw each other like brother and sister, and he was thinking about the option of becoming their Magical Legal Guardian. As Guardian he didn't take the place of their parents, but he would be a protector and provider for them. If they were in trouble, he could get them out of it and if they needed money for a house or to pay off a debt, than he would provide them with the necessary money.

As such, he was already practicing being protective and wanting to take care of them. It wasn't a difficult thing to do, for he was already protective of his best friend's son and everyone who met the girl, would want to protect her from the harshness of the outside world.

"Black, I can't say I'm surprised to see you here, but I would prefer it if you would leave us alone. At the moment I'm having a private moment with my long lost darling daughter and I dislike you interrupting it with your disgusting wolf and some poor Blood-Traitor."

Whatever Sirius had expected to hear, it wasn't this. He had heard of the disappearance of his niece and didn't know all the details of it, but he did know that it was not expected to find her ever again. Every year, on the fourth of May, the House of Malfoy would withdraw from the outside world and mourn for their lost daughter and sister in silence. After more than a decade the Aurors and Ministry had given up on finding her, but the Malfoy's themselves wouldn't back down until the girl would be safely back inside the comforting and protective embrace of the family.

He didn't even acknowledge the insult to his only living best friend or his godson's best friend, so shocked was he from the new information. From the corner of his eyes he could see Remus turning a sickly pale, the man's eyes darting around like he wanted to run. What was going on, had Remus something to do with the abduction? But the bookish, rule-abiding werewolf wouldn't do that right; he would know that that was wrong.

"Daughter, everybody knows that the Malfoy girl was abducted years ago. I would say good riddance. We don't need any more vapid, snotty Pureblood girls, Parkinson is more than enough."

Of course the youngest male Weasley didn't have the same restraint and common sense as all the other attendees and blurted something out that could be the very last thing he would say. It was a dead wish to insult the females of a Noble House in front of a male of the same House, let alone the Head of House. By law they could challenge the offender to a duel till the dead, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the elder Malfoy would win after only a few seconds into the duel.

"Ron, keep your mouth shut, you will only make it worse. Let me and Remus handle this."

"That is right, Weasley. If you don't want your mother receiving your head be Owl post tomorrow, I would follow Lord Black's advice. The same goes for you, Lupin. I would find delight in separating your body from its useless head." Lucius' drawl cut like a knife through the confidence that Ron had just felt a few seconds ago. He rather liked his head and didn't want to be separated with it.

"Ron, is that you? Do you know why Malfoy keeps calling me his daughter? I didn't even know that Malfoy had a sister."

The soft voice of the only girl present was filled with emotion. She didn't like being kept in the dark and not knowing things, especially if it was about her.

"Little one, what did I tell you? You were supposed to go back to sleep, let daddy take care of this. It will be alright." Like the Lestrange brothers before, the three intruders were shocked to hear the blond speak with such tenderness. It was surreal.

"No, I want to know the truth. What is going on here, I'm am not your daughter and you are delirious if you think so. We don't even look alike."

Hermione her wrath had finally reached its breaking point. She didn't like being spoken to like a little child and until now that was the only thing that the man holding her had done. On top of that, he was even lying to her without even blinking.

Trying to get away from him, for she didn't want to sit on his lap even a second longer, Hermione began to struggle again. Before Lucius realised what had happened, she had already pulled herself free from him and took a few steps in the direction of her friends. However, she hadn't counted on the other two men who had been there since she had woken up. An arm snaked around her waist and Hermione was pulled back into a hard chest. Her new captor was a lot stronger than her and so it was useless to fight him. After the man noticed that she didn't struggle anymore, he turned her around so that her face was buried in his chest. A musky scent that smelled entirely male, with little hints of parchment and tobacco filled her nose. It smelled like safety and home.

"Lestrange, let her go. You can obviously see that she doesn't want to be with you lot, so release her at once." Remus finally lost his temper. He didn't like seeing the innocent girl who he thought to be part of his pack, being manhandled by these brutes. It didn't matter that he knew them to be her family, she didn't know that and he could smell with Moony's nose that she was scared.

"I won't let little Cleo escape us again, and especially not at your hands. Did you really think that I hadn't heard what had happened, you filthy mud? What you did all those years ago is line-theft, and you know it. When you took her away from her parents, you not only ripped a loving family apart, but you also robbed the Noble and Ancient House of Pucey of their future Matriarch. Without our little doll here, he won't ever be able to produce any offspring, thus resulting in the end of the centuries old House of Pucey. I guess you know what kind of punishment is fitting for this kind of crime?"

"Remus," Sirius strangled voice and pained look on his face got the attention of his only living best friend, "line-theft equals a life-sentence in Azkaban, or in some cases the Kiss. It is one of the cruellest things you can do towards an Ancient House, and I know you knew this. Please, Moony, please tell me you didn't do it." His pleading eyes cut into those of the sandy-haired man next to him. "Please."

From Rodolphus Lestrange's arms, Hermione was trying to figure out what was going on and why everybody kept insisting that she was Malfoy's daughter. Her parents were Graham and Louise Granger and they had been since her birth. Not once had they even breathed a word about adoption, in fact her father had always changed the subject when their discussions or talks would go into that direction. Before her eleventh birthday, there hadn't been a day where her parents hadn't told her that they loved her. If she was really not their daughter biologically, than they would have told her, but since they hadn't, there was no reason to doubt her parent's identities.

But still, the look filled with emotion when Lucius had held her and the tenderness when he spoke with her, something like that you couldn't fake. What she had seen in his eyes, which was rumoured to be the window towards the soul, had been such raw emotions. If that wasn't real, than she didn't know it anymore.

All of this made her revise her answer towards him being her father. Why would he be so convinced of her being his daughter, when it wasn't true? She didn't even look like him, or like his wife for that matter. Their hair was a white-blond that almost hurt to look at, and unlike her had a pale tan and blue or grey eyes. Her colourings didn't match that, not even a little bit. Her hair was a wild curly brown, thankfully it had eased down on the frizziness the last year, and her skin was a light olive, while her eyes were a warm chocolate brown.

Trying to prove her point to herself, she reached up to finger her tight ringlets. However, the only thing she felt was fine, silken locks of hair. A gasp left her mouth, making Rodolphus tighten his arms around her.

"It's alright, little one. You don't have to be scared anymore; soon you will be home where you belong. Or do you already miss your daddy, baby girl?" His soft smooth voice whispered in her ear. Like Lucius' voice it had a strangely calming effect on her. "Do you want to go back to your daddy? Or do you want to stay with your Uncle Dolphy, hmm? What do you say?"

Wanting to feel safe again, like she did when she was in Malfoy's arms, Hermione was tempted to say that she wanted to go to her daddy, knowing that that answer would please the three men who had found her. But she also felt safe right where she was now. It was a tough decision to make. After a few seconds of contemplating the different options, in which Rodolphus was humming a quiet lullaby in her hair, the decision was made for her.

~~*~~*~(**REFOUND DAUGHTER**)~*~~*~~

**What happened in the meanwhile…**

Apparently no-one had noticed Ron silently sneaking towards his still stunned male best friend. Harry lay completely stiff on the ground, his eyes looking blindly towards the ceiling. A quick whispered 'rennervate' made that Harry too returned to the land of the living. His eyes shot from left to right, seeking the girl he so desperately tried to protect.

"Ron, where is Hermione? Don't tell me they have her, please, don't tell me she is hurt." The longing and desperateness in his tone was easily heard. Ron knew that Hermione had a special spot in Harry's heart, being the first female to show him the love he so much had missed in his childhood. At times he was a little jealous at the bond between the two, but then again he knew that he connected with Harry in a way that was impossible for Hermione. Between himself and the girl there was no love lost, for it was only Harry that made it that they were friends.

Hermione and he were too different to become anything more than just casual acquaintances. She loved school and learning and reading, and all the other things that had to do with smarts. He himself, hated school and learning for that matter. Wizarding chess and Quidditch were his life; he probably couldn't survive if he didn't have those two things.

This made it that they could only tolerate each other for Harry's sake, but with huge fights in between things.

"She is okay, I think, but… well mate, I don't know how to say it, but… " Ron didn't know what the best way was to tell Harry that it was highly possible that the girl who he considered to be his sister in all but blood, was the sister of their archenemy at school. That she didn't even look like herself anymore. To be honest, it was disgusting how those three grown men were acting around her, like she was some kind of damsel in distress who needed to be saved. The wench had never needed anyone, so he didn't get why she should need it now.

It was ingrained in Ron's DNA, and in the genetics of every Weasley for that matter, to hate the Malfoy's. The feud between the two Houses was already more than two centuries old and neither would ever forgive the other. It was just impossible.

"What, Ron, tell me. What happened to Mione?" Now Harry's temper began to shine through. As a little boy Harry had never learnt to control his anger, and because of that he had often, when he got really worked up, a really nasty temper. Only Hermione was able to calm him down in such episodes.

"Hermione is a Malfoy. The little ferret is her brother." The words rushed out of his mouth and afterwards he prayed that his friend would know not to kill the messager. It wouldn't end well if the Ministry would be forced to lock the Boy Who Lived up inside Azkaban for killing his friend. Then they would never stand a chance to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

It took a while for Harry to process what Ron had told him. Mione, his innocent little Mione was family to the ferret. It would have to be a lie, a stupid, not funny joke, but he knew that Ron wouldn't lie about something as important as this. She was too important to him, and Ron wouldn't hurt him like that, not without a reason, but he didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it.

"Does she know? How do you know? Is she still here? She is okay, right?"

"As far as I know she is alright, only looks scarily similar like the ferret. It's like Malfoy transformed himself into a small female Malfoy. The only thing that makes her recognisable is her stubbornness and her bossy tone." At this last thought a small smile came upon the dark haired boys face, remembering instances in which those were directed towards them. For such a little witch, she could be quite scary if she wanted to. And the worst part was that she knew this.

Shouting pulled them out of their thoughts and made them turn towards the other occupants of the small corridor. A few feet further down the small hallway they could see Remus and Sirius fighting. It was obvious that Sirius was disappointed in his friend and that he demanded an explanation.

"I can't believe you would do something like that, taking a child away from parents who loved it. You should know how big a disaster this could become, didn't you learn anything when I came crying to you and James, over how my family clearly hated me. How it was that I wasn't loved anymore, not by those who I had thought would always care about me?! Now you have done the exact same thing, ripping a loving family apart."

Words couldn't describe the disgust and disappointment that radiated off of Sirius. To him it looked scarily similar to his and Harry's situations, a child torn away from those who it had loved and who had loved the young one. Of course, there were a lot of differences, but the bottom line was the same, and he just couldn't get why Remus had done something like that.

Sirius wasn't the only one who had those kinds of thoughts spooking through his head. Just before Remus could open his mouth and say something to his defences, Harry cut him off.

"Remus, where is Sirius talking about? Did you really take Hermione from her parents?"

For a few seconds it was completely silent, as it was clear that nobody had noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived had awoken. It was now that he finally noticed the petite blond girl in the arms of a tall, well-built male. Was that Hermione, but she didn't even look like herself anymore. Though, didn't Ron tell him that she looked exactly like a female replica of the ferret? It wasn't all that surprising if you thought about it. Of course would she no longer look anything like her adoptive parents, they never had been her real parents and as such she couldn't look like them. The blond hair was the trademark of the Malfoy family, so it only made sense for her to have it too and well, much more he couldn't see as she still kept her face hidden in the man's robes.

"No… I mean, Dumbledore had… Well the plan was to… " Some stuttering was the only thing that was coming from Remus his mouth. And as far as Harry was concerned, it didn't make his case look any better.

"Mister Potter, I am sure you would want to know what has happened all those years ago, but I insist on taking my girl home with me to where she belongs. She has had a rather tiring day and after all this excitement it would do her good to take a nice long nap. So if you would excuse me?"

It was clear to all those there that Lucius had finally had enough with all the stupid arguing. As much as it satisfied him to see the filthy wolf to be taken down a notch or two. Or for the Weasley sprog to sign his own death wish, he had more pressing matters to attend too, one of these being the little girl who was almost asleep in the arms of her godfather.

Rodolphus gave him a small smirk when Lucius held his arms out to receive his daughter. To the former it was quite clear that the girl wouldn't be leaving the sight of her father for quite some time, the man was paranoid for losing her again.

Silently she was passed down from one set of arms towards the other; a quick kiss on her smooth forehead was the goodbye she got from her godfather. Once she was once again safely back in the arms that had made her feel so safe and content, Hermione couldn't help but snuggle deeper into the warmth that was the chest of the man holding her. This here was her home. Here she felt safe again.

* * *

**Please, do not hesitate to write me about what you think of the story. I like reading your comments and are of course open to suggestions :P**

**Lots of Love, **

**LoveForBooks 'p**


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